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Memory Lane: Wendell Smith

Wendell Smith

Born: Aug. 13, 1962

Where: Kingsport

Residence: Kingsport

High School/Colleges: Ketron/East Tennessee State, Union

Then: For a guy who batted only twice in high school, Wendell Smith made quite a name for himself on the baseball field.

Smith was accorded all-conference, all-district and all-state honors not once, but twice as a Ketron player. He concentrated on pitching and a designated hitter took his spot in the batting order.

“I was so focused on pitching it would have been impossible for me to do both,’’ he said. “I was that intense.’’

Baseball wasn’t his only sport. He played basketball and tennis and ran cross country.

Despite having to practice baseball on the same day, he worked his way up to the No. 1 singles position on the tennis team.

After sitting out his junior year because of an ankle injury, he came back as a senior to become an all-conference selection in basketball.

Smith was a late bloomer in baseball. He pitched just one game as a sophomore, defeating Church Hill. The next season he hit the jackpot with a 10-1 record and 1.86 earned run average, and was chosen Tennessee’s Class AA player of the year. He followed that up with an 8-3 record and a 2.30 ERA.

After notching his fifth win as a junior, Smith was described in a newspaper article as a player who’s “as clean cut as a 4H poster boy.’’ All over the school building the next day students put up signs kidding him.

His only loss that season was 4-2 in a substate game. The tying and winning runs scored after a pop fly that would have been the third out was dropped in foul territory.

All 11 of his appearances were complete games. “I would not turn the ball over to someone else,’’ he said.

Smith came close to pitching a no-hitter three times. Twice, he had no-hit bids foiled in the seventh inning. He was one out away from a no-hitter against Lynn View and had a 0-2 count on Roger Chadwell, who singled up the middle. Entering the final inning, Smith had thrown only 57 pitches.

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Smith’s pitches seemed to have eyes. His control was such that several times he got through an inning throwing just five pitches. In his entire high school career, the number of walks he issued could have been counted on the fingers of both hands.

A right-hander, he had three pitches — fastball, slider and changeup. “I put four fingers on the ball for the changeup. It was a slower pitch with the same motion as the others. I never threw for the middle of the plate. I pitched shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee. The changeup got a lot of grounders because batters tended to hit on top of the ball.’’

Mike Ritz, the coach, allowed Smith to call his own pitches.

“I’d tell the catcher to get the ball back to me quickly,’’ Smith said. “I wanted to create a fast tempo. I took very little time between pitches.’’

The facilities in those days weren’t like they are today.

“The first thing we did when we walked onto a field was to pick up rocks. Most of the fields had no home run fences,’’ he said. “Now, everybody plays in a stadium or on a nice field.’’

Growing up in a sports-minded family made Smith competitive. “Anything we did was about winning,’’ he said.

His older brother, Kirk, was a pitcher and third baseman at Ketron in the mid-1970s and drew some interest from major league scouts with his hitting ability.

Their father, Larry, was a baseball player at Nickelsville, but had to quit after suffering a broken neck in a diving accident at the age of 16. He spent a year in traction.

Nancy, Wendell’s mother, was quite an athlete. “She was the most competitive of all,” he said. “We had some interesting 2-on-2 basketball games and tennis matches within the family.’’

Wendell is thankful that his parents always attended games in which he played. “I see kids playing today and their parents don’t come. It’s sad.’’

He was a member of the last graduating class at Ketron in 1980, before the school consolidated with Lynn View to form Sullivan North.

Smith, bouncing back from the ankle injury, had a productive senior year on the basketball team. Even though Scott Johnson and Tim Light, both 6-4, were taller, Smith jumped center. He averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“I knew my role,’’ he said. “That was to follow shots and put rebounds in. I wasn’t afraid to mix it up, and I fouled out a lot.’’

Smith scored 24 points against Elizabethton, including a dunk. He also had a dunk against Church Hill during an 18-point, 14-rebound performance.

Lincoln Memorial University and ETSU showed interest in him as a pitcher. “I’d already decided to move on,’’ he said. “I wanted to teach, and it worked out that I got to return to Ketron.’’

Now: He’s been assistant principal at Ketron Intermediate for two years. He taught and coached at four middle schools — Ketron, Lynn View, Sullivan and Holston.

In his first year at Ketron Middle, he coached boys and girls in basketball and both reached the Sullivan County finals. In the next three years, his girls squads won county championships.

“I love what I do,’’ he said. “After 22 years in education, I still enjoy going to work every day.’’

He is married to the former Laura Clark, who attended Ketron and graduated at North. She teaches at Ketron.

They have two daughters, Madison and Makenna. Madison is on the volleyball varsity at North.

Smith started a community volleyball program that serves as North’s feeder system, and it has grown from 60 to 145 players.

He is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and also officiates in Eastman Chemical Company’s recreation leagues.

Bill Lane is a Times-News sports writer. E-mail him at blane@timesnews.net.

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